Andrew Mah, Entry #3, Machine Malfunctions

My fourth week at the Khalizov lab has concluded. While I only have two weeks left in the lab, the experiment is at a standstill since the mass spectrometry is still malfunctioning. Matt and Dr. Khalizov are still working on the mass spectrometry. Unfortunately, hopes are low currently.

While John and I are not allowed to fix the mass spectrometry due to its technical nature, Dr. Khalizov tried to explain the problem to us on Monday since we have limited work without the machine working. Apparently, the triangular turbine in the mass spectrometry is malfunctioning because of some resistors arranged in a wrong way. This prevents reagent ions to run the mass spectrometry. Another potential problem is contamination of the mass spectrometry, which may be giving some odd values. Dr. Khalizov is planning to call the technician from the company that made the mass spectrometry. While it does not look promising at the moment, I hope John and I can perform some experiments during my last week at the lab.

Anyways, the official high school summer research program at NJIT began last Monday. While I am also part of EXP at Peddie, I am also part of this summer research internship program which provides me a more constructive experience at NJIT. I had the opportunity to meet other high school students who are starting their lab experience. There are seminars that professors are giving high school students, and they give me a wealth of knowledge in the field of science research. I had my first seminar last Tuesday, and it was about reading peer-reviewed journals. There is also a networking session after each seminar.

Jaime and John, two new high school students, joined the lab last Monday along with Dr. Q, a visiting professor from the University of New Haven. We had our first official lab lunch last Wednesday. We introduced ourselves and updated Dr. Khalizov on our progress. Dr. Khalizov gave me some constructive feedback about my current progress.

While the malfunctions in the machine is causing some delay in my research, I have been doing research in other areas which may help the experiment in the future. First, I have been researching to find the optimum temperature to raise the inlet when vaporizing the mercury in the experiment. My goal was to find the temperature when the mercury will reach steady state. In other words, it is to find the temperature before the mercury starts condensing, which I do not want in the experiment. In order to do so, I had to use the Clausius-Clapeyron equation to do so.

I have also been finalizing my research in the uniform thickness of glass tubes. While my percent errors in my trials are all within 10%, I am debating on whether to do more trials. Regardless, when I have my presentation in the near future, I plan to present my research in this area also.